4A Football | Grant Gellatly's big night leads Issaquah over Kentwood

ISSAQUAH — When Issaquah lost its third fumble, it could feel its once-large lead slipping away. Even through the fog, the Eagles could see the Kentwood sideline bouncing and could hear its fans screaming.

And when the lead fell to three, Issaquah junior Grant Gellatly ran down his sideline screaming, "This is the season."

Gellatly knew it would be OK. Because he knew he would be getting the ball.

"We had been relying on the line all game, so why go away from it?" he said.

With five carries on the final drive, Gellatly ran until Kentwood couldn't stop the clock again. And behind Gellatly's 313 rushing yards, Issaquah escaped the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs with a 31-28 victory against Kentwood.

"He's the real deal," teammate Dustin Talley said. "He's amazing."

The Eagles, ranked 10th in Class 4A, will play Bothell in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday. Issaquah beat sixth-ranked Bothell 24-13 in the first week of the season on the road, and like they did against Kentwood, the Eagles will do their best to make next week's game seem like another road game.

At about 4:50 p.m. on Saturday, the Issaquah players packed their bags, shut their lockers and, one by one, they filed onto a pair of school buses.

For a home game.

"We packed the ball bag and everything," Gellatly said.

The buses took a trip to Snoqualmie Falls and back, and when they returned to Issaquah, the Eagles filed out into their own stadium like it was any other road game.

The Eagles (9-2) had a reason to not want Issaquah Stadium to feel like home. They went undefeated on the road this season, but they were shut out in two of their final three road games.

"They asked if we could play it at French Field [in Kent]," Issaquah coach Chris Bennett said. "But I said I'll see if we can get on the bus."

Less than seven minutes into the game, Gellatly found a hole, juked through the safety and went 68 yards for an early touchdown.

"I felt like I was getting to the second level all night," he said.

Kentwood hit back quickly to take a 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Gellatly had runs of 25 and 47 yards to set up second-quarter touchdowns. When he scored from 3 yards out with 13 seconds left in the first half, Issaquah led 21-14.

Gellatly's third touchdown and a field goal put Issaquah ahead 31-14, but Darrius Coleman's 55-yard run set up a touchdown that cut the lead to 10. And midway through the fourth, an Issaquah fumble gave Kentwood another shot.

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com